sockmonkey75

We Let Her Down

2012-02-10T15:52:00.005-08:00

I first heard this song just over two years ago, shortly after my mom was diagnosed with cancer ... just days before we lost her.

My heart breaks a little more every time I hear this song. Oh how I miss her.

Wooo!

2012-01-30T15:17:00.004-08:00

I've wanted this chair for years. Truth be told, I never purchased it because of the price tag.

BUT! When I found out that I could score this fab chair for 50% off the regular price, I knew I had to.

I get to pick my little white beauty up on February 7. Yay!!

Puppy love!

2012-01-16T18:31:00.006-08:00

Those of you who know me know that I LOVE dogs. My favourite pups? Poodle-mutts and French Bulldogs. SO cute!

My friend Danielle is also big on dogs ... and I must pass along another huge "WOOO!" to her, as she & her husband adopted a little pup this past weekend. Yay! The little furry one goes by the name of Emmy and from what I've seen, she is super duper adorable! Congrats on the little addition to your family, D & P!

On topic, let's have a look at another super cute little pup! I have no idea who this dog is, but I saw the pic and I smiled. She/he looks so much like my childhood best friend (my dog Muffin). :)

Photo courtesy of Design Sponge

I ♥ London

2012-01-13T07:51:00.003-08:00

A successful budget, I'd say!

2012-01-10T07:28:00.003-08:00

I just read an article titled, "Canadians getting better at paying off credit card debt, says Equifax" by Sunny Freeman at the Canadian Press. According to the article,

Canadians are paying off more of their credit card debt and borrowing less as they cope with a weaker economy and some restrictions on credit expansion. The latest national credit trends report from Equifax Canada, released early Tuesday, says the average credit card debt fell in 2011 by 3.4 per cent.

I think this is fantastic ... because I'm one of those Canadians who has seen their debt fall! I put a new budget and plan into place for my own debt reduction in July 2010 ... and I'm happy to report that my own debt is down by a whopping 22%. Yay!

It's a good feeling. I have a long way to go, but still - I'm making progress, and progress is good. And to top it off, I still get to travel. Tee hee! :)

A highlight of 2011

2011-12-29T12:11:00.007-08:00

One of the best things that the hubby & I did this year was visit China. Well, Dan was actually there to work for 2 months -- but I'm so glad that we, as a couple, decided that it was a good idea for him to go ... and later, for me to go visit! Neither one of us had any interest in ever visiting China (it was literally the last place on our to-visit list), but we're so glad that we opted to go for it. It was a great opportunity and a great experience.

Let's look at a few pics, shall we? :)

The big event of December

2011-12-28T11:31:00.004-08:00

December has also been a busy month! The insanity of work continued, of course - but then there was also all of the annual holiday-related stuff thrown into the mix too.

And on top of all of that, Dan had eye surgery on his left eye earlier this month (December 16). For those of you who don't know, Dan has an eye disease called keratoconus. He had a cornea transplant in his left eye 1995 - at that time, he was told that it was a last resort to repair his eye. It's held up okay since the transplant, but his sight has continually deteriorated. Thanks for modern technology, laser surgery is now an option for someone with kerataconous! So he was scheduled for laser surgery on his left eye - it was basically a similar procedure as the "normal" procedure that a lot of folks get, but with a much greater risk of something going wrong because of the transplanted cornea. A lot of people have immediate improvement with their sight - but in Dan's case we were told that his vision would return to its original level at about 2 weeks after surgery. Then, if all goes well, it will continue to improve after that (for up to 1 year).

The eye drop routine after his surgery has been intense - the first few days following the procedure was insane! I was actually given a spreadsheet by the clinic so I could keep track of the various eye drops, meds, etc. And thank goodness I had a chart to track it all, or I definitely would have lost track! Dan is now down to 4 different types of eye drops and 2 meds taken throughout the day.

He's been back to the specialist 2x since the procedure and his eye seems to be healing as it should. Phew! His distance vision is still pretty bad, but at least he can see up-close better already! It's amazing (let me tell you - his sight was SO bad before the procedure that, even with his glasses on, he had to hold literature right up to his nose in order to read it). He can now read literature at almost arm's-length, without glasses on at all. Wow.

Once this eye is out of the "danger zone" and is well on its way to healing, Dan can have his right eye done. That eye still has kerataconus in it, so it's a more involved procedure. His surgery will actually be part of a clinical study for "Corneal Collagen Crosslinking with Riboflavin". If all goes well, it will not only improve his site, but will result in him not ever needing a cornea transplant on that eye! (errr, if it doesn't go so well, it will mean that he'll need a transplant much sooner ... but we're optimistic this won't happen)

Dan hasn't been allowed to drive since the procedure but will find out on Friday if his vision has stabilized enough to drive. I sure hope so!! And how I hope his sight continues to improve and he's able to see better. Fingers crossed. :)

November in a nut-shell

2011-12-28T11:16:00.006-08:00

November was a busy & stressful month, me-oh-my! It ended up that I had to step into my new role at work earlier than anticipated -- that meant taking on the new job without full training in addition to having to hold down my regular full-time job (the small positive in this is that at least both positions are in the same department). It just so happens that November in both roles is an extremely busy time - so it was pretty brutal trying to juggle both.

My life would have been made a lot easier if a replacement had been brought in for my regular role - but it just so happens that the person who will be taking on my role for the next year wasn't able to do so until January ... so that meant that the responsibilities of both jobs fell on me. This was lame, in a BIG way - especially since I was told that working additional hours wasn't an option - I had to get everything done during regular work hours. Yep, that's right - two full time jobs stuffed into the hours of one job. All the while having to learn the new job.

And that about sums up November. All work, no play.

(see why I haven't updated for awhile?)

October in a nut-shell

2011-12-28T10:53:00.017-08:00

We came home from Europe on October 9, and both Dan & I were totally sick (the most horrible cold I think I've ever had!). I had applied for a temporary job (14 months maternity leave coverage) just before we left for Europe -- I got an email while I was still in Europe saying that the interview would be the first day I returned to work. So I came back to work, completely sick and still in holiday-mode and had to do an interview with a panel of 4 interviewers. What fun!

I was offered the job about 10 minutes after the interview, so I suppose it went well. :P

I was asked to start training for the position on October 24 - so that meant training for the new job every day for about 4 hours, while still doing my regular job too.

I was really trying to get back into "work mode" after having been in Europe for almost a month ... but it was really hard, as the nasty cold just wouldn't go away. And what really sucked was that it ended up turning into a horrible, nasty, very painful sinus infection. I'd never had one of those before - and truth be told, I wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy! Oooh it hurt so bad. It meant that I had to go on antibiotics, take steroid nasal spray and do sinus rinses regularly.

Nasty cold + sinus infection + stress of having to train for a new job while doing a full-time job = BAD. By the first week of November I was really run down.

A small break in the clouds

2011-10-28T15:33:00.007-07:00

I was hoping to have some posts about our fantastic Eurotrip 2011 by now, but unfortunately the past few weeks have been a total write-off for me. I told you about the terrible German cold bug that turned into a sinus infection ...

I seem to be on the mend now, but oh me-oh-my, I am so tired! I'm definitely in need of some down time so I can recover and get my energy levels back up.

I haven't been sleeping well so getting out of the bed every morning for work has been a challenge. To top it off, I'll be taking on a 14-month job assignment at work (maternity leave coverage for a co-worker) that requires a fair amount of training -- so I've been doing that all week. Add in the lack of energy and daily headaches and tension in my neck/skull and nope, it's not been a fun week.

This morning things seemed extra blah for me. But I headed to work ... I had just started my walk to work when I came across an elderly lady who was picking up a poor dead kitty from the sidewalk (he'd been hit by a car). That added to the day. I felt even more horrible after witnessing that unfortunate sight. But I carried on -- feeling extra down and gloomy.

But then, as I was nearing Granville Island a complete stranger struck up a conversation with me as we were walking alongside each other. She was very nice and made some small talk about the weather, appropriate clothing for such Vancouver weather, etc. And then as she was about to head off in a different direction she told me that I was, "beautiful. Stunningly beautiful."

A random conversation with a stranger topped off with a random compliment ... it didn't make my day great, but it did make it a little bit better. I'm thankful for that.

.

Coming home from a trip is lame enough ...

2011-10-20T09:20:00.010-07:00

... and coming home totally sick makes it really lame! Dan picked up a cold bug in Munich during the last week of September -- I managed to fight it off for a bit, but it eventually got me while we were in Venice. October 2nd, to be exact, is when my throat started to hurt. It progressively got worse, and I was completely sick for the rest of our trip. I did my best to carry on as usual though (with the help of some Italian cold meds)

At the end of our trip we had to fly from Pisa to London to catch our flight home. Oh my, that flight was BRUTAL. I've never flown while at the peak of a cold before - and all I can say is, "ouch." Both Dan and I were in pain for that flight, as our ears wouldn't pop! The pressure just kept building and building ... ugh. Anyways, as if that wasn't bad enough, we were on the flight home only 8 hours after that flight, so got to do it all over again (although the 2nd flight wasn't as painful, thankfully).

Anyhoo, we got home and were both still sick. Both of our colds slowly cleared up, but unfortunately that wouldn't be the end of it for me. At the 2-week mark most of my cold symptoms were gone, but not the sinus pressure/pain. Oh, and not to mention the complete lack of energy. I finally gave in and went to the doctor this past Monday (Oct 17) and it was confirmed what I had suspected - a lovely sinus infection has crept its way in. Ugh.

Apparently flying when sick can lead to an outcome such as this. I guess two flights in one day can really increase the chances! So now, for the next week I have a lovely steroid-nasal spray to take as well as antibiotics. Let's just hope they do the job, and quickly. After being sick for 18 days, I've seriously had enough. :(

Oktoberfest 2011 ~ Munich, Germany

2011-10-05T13:58:00.004-07:00

Well, we survived Oktoberfest ... it was tons o' fun, of course. :) And I did just as I said I would ... I bought my first dirndl! And Dan got lederhosen! Yay!

Overall, Eurotrip 2011 has been great. Lots of fun, good food/drink, stories, memories ... it's hard to believe that 3 weeks here have already passed! It's soooo sad to know that we only have 4 sleeps in Europe left before we head home. [insert big sigh here]

Lesson learned.

2011-09-07T07:32:00.003-07:00

Wowza, things have been busy lately. Like, crazy-busy. For some reason, every single time I'm planning on taking some time off (which obviously means closing the studio for a break), I get inundated with custom invitation orders. Not that I'm complaining, it's just that the timing is impeccable! So - over the past two weeks I've been swamped with invitation orders, all of which have to be completed and out the door before I jet off to Europe. Needless to say, I've been a busy bee. To top that off, work at my day job has been equally crazy-busy. And to top THAT off, I've been hit repeatedly with migraines lately ... those pesky things have a tendency to wipe me out (I wonder why?!) and set me back. But in the end, all will work out - everything will get done and in 8 days I'll be sitting on a plane, en route to Europe. I'm keeping my eye on the prize!

Speaking of the trip - just when we thought we had everything sorted/planned in terms of our itinerary, 4 of our friends decided to join us and meet up in a few different places in Europe. So D & I put all of our bookings (ie. trains, hotel bookings) on hold until our friends got their stuff together. Wowee, that was a mistake! We held off for about 3 weeks or so (which we weren't overly happy about, btw), with the thought that we'd coordinate with our friends. Anyhoo, they're a bit slack when it comes to planning so D & I decided to just go ahead without them and do our bookings - after all, the trip is just around the corner! Like I said though, waiting -- what a mistake. Prices skyrocketed and tons of trains in/out of Munich are sold out. Eeep! Lesson learned - never again will we hold off and wait for others ... not if it means paying tons more money and whatnot. Rather, book - then figure out places to meet up with friends. :)

Anyhoo, we finally got things sorted and I ordered our train tickets last Friday. They were delivered via courier yesterday. As of this morning, all of our hotels are now offically booked too - so we're set. Phew! I'll do another post and fill you in on our revised itinerary ...

Comfy as can be!

2011-08-23T11:42:00.009-07:00

With a trip to Europe officially booked, I decided it was time for a new pair of super comfy shoes that would enable me to walk mega-kilometers every day. Here they are! They're not really a shoe I would wear "openly" - but they look good with jeans.

Dinnerware

2011-08-04T12:04:00.005-07:00

I'm not really into horses but these plates are awfully cute, don't you think? I've been thinking about getting some new dinnerware ... I really like silhouettes, so something like these would be great (just with a different graphic).

West Elm - you need to open a store in Vancouver, Canada!!

Eurotrip #11

2011-08-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

It took awhile to get the ball rolling with our trip planning, but I'm happy to say that we've finally figured out an itinerary for Eurotrip #11! I guess that it was a bit hard trying to figure out a plan this time around, as we've been to Europe so many times now and have pretty much been to all the places that we really wanted to see. To top it off, we had one "restriction" we had to work with in our planning - that being that we have to be in Munich for Oktoberfest pretty much smack-dab in the middle of our trip. I suppose one other big restriction was flight options - there really aren't many flight deals to be had this year ... so that pretty much means that we'll have to fly with Air Transat, as they have the best prices (and a decent number of direct flights).

Okay, so enough said! Our itinerary is ... **drumroll please** ... London - Paris - Strasbourg - Munich - Verona - London. We're going to stay in London, Paris and Verona for decent amounts of time, with the intent of basing in those cities (even though we've spent a fair amount of time in both London and Paris in the past, we'll mix it up with all of the day trips) and doing lots of day trips from them. One cool day trip that we'll be doing is VENICE. Finally! I know it will be totally touristy and insanely busy (not to mention overpriced), but still - it's one place I've always wanted to see. And now I will. :)

We depart 6 weeks from today. Hooray!

Mmm, I cannot WAIT for all the tasty food in Italy!!!

(above photo snapped by moi ... last year when we were in Florence)

Tsunami nightmares

2011-07-16T10:01:00.008-07:00

In the past few years I've had 2x when I've had horrible dreams about tsunamis. The first one I had was particularly upsetting to wake up from, but looking back it was actually somewhat of a peaceful dream. My friends and I were actually on TOP of the tsunami wave and heading toward land. We were up really high and it took a moment for us to realize where we were. But once we did, I had time to tell them, "I love you all" before everything went black.

Last night the tsunami returned to my dreams. It wasn't quite as powerful of a dream as the other one, but still - for some reason when I dream of a tsunami I wake up a tad upset.

Last night I was with Dan, my sister and my brother in law. We were hanging out at a beach and I decided I was going to go play in the water/waves. The rest of them stayed on the beach. I heard my bro-in-law say, "we need to get her a surfboard" as I was going out into the water. I played for a bit but when it was time to come in (I was going to catch a wave), there weren't any waves left - it had become calm. And I noticed that most people had left the water (and there had been a lot of peeps in the ocean before then). So I headed toward shore and before I knew it, the water was gone - it was receding to the ocean. I got up, realized what was happening and told Dan and Wayne that we had to get to higher ground as quickly as possible. I was in a bit of a panic because I knew what was coming. My sister had gone back to our car to get something so we weren't with her. Then, somehow Wayne became my dad and Angie became my mom (you know, weird things like that happen in dreams) - and I was telling my dad that we had to go, we couldn't go back for mom or we would all die. The water continued to recede and I knew that time was running out ... but we were all kind of frozen, trying to decide what to do - go back for mom or go to higher ground without her.

One dream analysis I found for tsunami-related dreams:

To dream of a tsunami signals you're being easily overwhelmed by unresolved feelings. You may be experiencing sadness and emotional stress in your waking life.

(I have been pretty upset over the last while, a lot of it due to missing my mom an awful lot).

Cute!

2011-07-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

I don't have any little ones, nor do I have any on the way. However, over the past few years there have been times when I've seen little baby things that have been too cute to *not* buy. Like this adorable little onesie that I just purchased. :)

This fantastic little design is by Square Paisley Design

Usually the little baby items are sock monkey related, but I'm also quite fond of raccoons so I just couldn't pass this up! I'm also quite a fan of clothes for babies that aren't overly "cutesy", so this is really quite the perfect little onesie, should I ever have to dress a little one of my own.

Aha!

2011-07-12T09:09:00.007-07:00

Since I was a teen I've had issues with iron-deficiency anemia. There have been a few times that I've really struggled with it (ie. severe dizzy spells, black-outs, very low energy, extremely pale skin, etc). It became daily routine for me to take supplements (iron, B12) and this is something I've done every single day now for the past 20 years or so (at varying levels). Because I've had issues in the past I have a good idea when something is going on with my levels - and over the past while I've been feeling a bit rough. In other words, some of the symptoms of low levels have been appearing. So I decided to make an appointment with my doctor to request that my blood work be done; I specifically mentioned the following symptoms to her:

low energy
dizzy spells
cold extremities (ie. feet)
thinning hair
bruising easier than usual

She agreed it was a good idea to get my blood tested and so that's what I did. I got my results and the verdict?? All of my levels are within proper range, with the exception of my ferritin. For women, ferritin should fall within the 18–160 mcg/L range. I *do* fall within the range, but just barely - I'm sitting at 18 mcg/L.

So! That pretty much explains why I've been feeling the way I have. I was spot-on with this one. So, as of this morning I'm taking an increased amount of iron supplements (again). I already eat quite healthy but I'm also going to make a point of eating more iron-rich foods every day as well. It takes awhile for iron levels to build ... but I should be feeling much better within 2-3 months!

The Budget: Year One

2011-07-08T10:50:00.007-07:00

Let's just say that I wasn't raised in a very "financially aware" family. And unfortunately, neither was Dan ...

This resulted in both of us having to pay for our university educations completely on our own. It meant that when we had any money in our 20's, we had no idea how to spend it - we'd just blow it. It meant that "savings" didn't mean anything to us. It meant that as soon as we qualified for credit, we racked up a hefty amount of debt.

Things really started to go downhill (financially) for us 10 years ago - when Dan's dad passed away from cancer. It all happened very suddenly - he was diagnosed and 6 months later, he was gone. Dan and I adopted the belief of "anything can happen - make the most out of life now." So that's what we did - one of the main things was that we started traveling like crazy. And we've continued on with our travels ever since, making some super duper awesome memories along the way (not to mention, learning tons and really changing for the better along the way).

As fantastic as all of our trips have been, it's not like we actually had the money for them. We basically dug our debt hole pretty deep as a result of all of our travels (Europe 10x, Hawaii 5x, Las Vegas 5x, etc.) But it all came down to our "live now" mentality ... so we've been making the most out of life and doing what we love most - traveling, exploring.

But then my overall outlook on life/our future shifted and took a different turn. This happened after my mom passed away suddenly from cancer (in her case, she was diagnosed in December and passed away only 1 month later). It was a huge shock and really upset my life in many ways - it changed pretty much every aspect of me, including how I view the present ... and the future. It wasn't until I lost my mom that I really started to think about the future - not entirely sure why ... I guess I was to busy living in "the now". I suppose I had blinders on, but they came off when I lost my mom.

About 6 months after my mom passed away the haze began to lift a bit - and I knew it was time to start thinking about the future. That meant facing reality (= our debt) and figuring out an action plan. All of this resulted in us completely analyzing our financial situation ... and putting together a realistic budget.

Having a budget was a completely foreign concept to both of us us! But it was necessary. So I did a fair amount of research on how to set up a realistic budget (thank you, Gail Vaz-Oxlade) and got to it. It was a fairly substantial undertaking, but I figured it all out and last July our shiny new budget was in place.

In order for a budget to work, it has to be realistic. Our budget allows for everything we need as well as for debt reduction. We will be completely debt-free in just over 2.5 years, which is amazing. Our budget allows for all of our living necessities (of course) as well as for retirement savings ... and the cherry on top? We still get to travel!! (well, as long as we're willing to work hard and bring in the extra money for it)

Obviously we'd be debt-free a whole lot sooner if we were willing to sacrifice travel. But seriously, that's not realistic for us. But we're more than willing to sacrifice in other areas (ie. clothing, entertainment) in order to get our debt gone.

And so far, with year one of our budget complete, I have to say that we're well on our way and so far, it's a huge success. In one year we have:

paid off several thousands of dollars in debt
have not incurred any new debt
paid off Dan's student loan in full
contributed to our retirement savings
got to go to our friends' wedding in Hawaii
got to visit China (Dan was there for work so it didn't cost anything for him - and we saved enough for me to get a flight to go visit)

And in September, we're off to Europe for just under a month!

All in all our budget is great. I won't lie - it can be difficult at times (ie. when friends want to go out for dinner and we can't because we don't have it in the budget ... or when I feel the need to go shopping for new clothes) but overall, I gotta say - it's kicking ass. We're well on our way ~ hooray!

PB & chocolate .... mmm!

2011-07-07T09:02:00.007-07:00

My friend Danielle wrote a post about ice cream yesterday ... which reminded me, I've been meaning to mention my new fave ice cream for awhile!

Honestly, when I first tried PC ice cream I didn't have the highest expectations ... but this is deeee-lish! I've tried a few different flavours - most are really quite good, with one exception (I wasn't a fan of the pink lemonade flavour)

An added bonus is the price - most PC products are really well priced, and their ice cream is no exception. Only $3 for a tub!

Shoes

2011-07-05T16:52:00.002-07:00

Dan and I went to Seattle last week (a post on our getaway will follow shortly) ... I did my best to do a little shopping along the way! I'm trying to be open to new clothes/shoes/items that I previously might not have considered ... that being said, one of my purchases was this cute little pair of shoes. I used to dislike peep-toe shoes, but I seem to have grown fond of them (just as long as the toes peeping out are nice looking!)

Cafe Medina

2011-07-04T14:15:00.005-07:00

I've been wanting to pay a visit to this little cafe on Beatty Street ever since I heard that they serve lavender lattes. To be honest, Dan & I have gone by the cafe a few times ... but there is always a line up, so we usually carry on. But this past weekend we happened to be in the neighborhood at a time that I guess isn't quite as busy for the little cafe (2pm on a Saturday) - no line up, so in we went! And I was oh-so-happy that we did!

We had lavender lattes - mmm! And of course we had to try the waffles because the toppings sounded like they were to die for. Dan had a waffle with a white chocolate pistachio rosewater topping and I had mine with a milk chocolate lavender topping. Have I mentioned before that I looove lavender flavoured edible goods? :)

The verdict? I'll be going back (most likely to try the cassoulet). Be sure to check out this great little cafe the next time you're in the area!

The waffles were a little on the small side, but good things do come in small packages.

Not my photos this time! Photo credit: a fella by the name of Rick Poon

Overthinking things

2011-06-27T08:50:00.004-07:00

Lately things have been different. I suppose it all started when the hubby went to China for work - it completely shook up my/our regular routines ... I know change is good, but with so many things being different, it made me do a lot of thinking. And unfortunately, usually me having having too much time to think isn't a good thing. Instead of using all that time for good I instead tend to stress about things - you know, over-analyze every aspect of my life ... and the outcome is never really very good. I end up thinking that I'm more of a failure than a success in life, I analyze every little aspect -- in the end, I get super stressed. And those of you who know me know that in my life, stress = migraines = pain.

Sooo... on that note, I've been pretty much wiped out for the past 2 weeks with mix of really bad tension migraines (mostly in the back of my skull) mixed with "classic" migraines (they usually get me in my right temple). I know that the cause of this onslaught of migraines is stress (I've had migraines for over 20 years now so I have a pretty clear idea of when/why I get them).

So basically, I really need to learn to mellow out. Just enjoy life. Don't stress about things that either don't warrant it, or that I don't have control over anyways. And if I do have control over something that is stressing me I need to tackle it head on and deal with it so it doesn't get to me. Seriously, enough is enough!

I really like this pic

2011-06-17T08:56:00.005-07:00

Old Town ~ Shanghai, China.

49 down, 1 to go

2011-06-17T08:45:00.003-07:00

My hubby has been in China for 7 weeks now. But guess what, only one more sleep and he'll be home! Yep, he flies from Shanghai to Vancouver TOMORROW. Woot, woot!

Even though I went and saw him part way through his time there, overall it's been a fairly long and lonely 7 weeks. I'm sure the time flew by for him - how can it not when you're experiencing new things and meeting new people every day, right? But when you're the one sitting at home, just living regular life, time can get a little long. I guess it doesn't help that I'm a bit of a loner when he's not around ~ I could have gone out lots, but I opted not too. Instead I worked my butt off, working at the day job full time in addition to working every evening AND every single weekend while he was gone. Err, what was I thinking?! ;)

At least I had hockey playoffs to get me through! (our team played an amazing season ... thank you, Vancouver Canucks!!)

Desperately seeking ...

2011-06-12T13:48:00.005-07:00

Clarity

Direction

Focus

Purpose

Home

2011-06-10T12:34:00.004-07:00

Wowee, my time in Shanghai flew by! I flew home a few days ago. I wish I could have extended my stay, but nope - I have to save my remaining weeks of vacation for Eurotrip 2011!

I gotta tell you, when I crawled into bed on my first night home, I giggled. I was giddy to be in such a comfy bed ... the bed at the apartment in Shanghai was like sleeping on a sheet of plywood (I'm not exaggerating).

Overall, my Shanghai experience was good. Much better than I was expecting it to be! It's a crazy place and the people do some very weird stuff ... I wouldn't be surprised if I returned at some point in my future.

I snapped this pic of birdcages in the bird & insect market. I quite like it.

Observations

2011-06-02T02:25:00.005-07:00

I've noted a few other things during my time in Shanghai, such as:

- Rather than wearing diapers, toddlers here wear pants that have little slits in them. When they gotta go, they squat down wherever they may happen to be and do their business! In fact, I actually saw this happen today, right in the middle of a pedestrian walkway. Umm, yeah. Seriously.

Look closely and you'll see what I'm talking about. (don't worry, it's not a full action shot!)

- People here avoid stairs at all costs. They all herd onto the escalator, en masse. Seriously, there will be hundreds of people crammed onto one escalator and I'll be the only one on the stairs next to it. Weird.

- If walking about on your own in certain areas, don't be surprised if you're pretty much pounced on by those trying to sell fake goods. Some are very aggressive. I don't know how many times I heard, "lady - purses, watches, what do you need, lady?" today! I think I'll stick to mostly busy main roads when I'm out on my own ... I'll save the small lanes for when I'm with someone else. :)

A cute lil' pug gets a ride in the French Concession.He's definitely much safer in there than on the ground!

Good eats

2011-05-31T19:25:00.005-07:00

Last night we went to an Italian place called La Strada in the French Concession. Oh my, it was delicious! Patate pizza ... mmm! And they were playing the soundtrack from Amelie, which was just perfect (for those of you who don't know, Dan & I were married in Italy and the orchestral version La Valse d'Amelie from the Amelie soundtrack was our wedding song). So it was nice - especially considering our 6th wedding anniversary was a few weeks ago and we were, unfortunately, apart for it. So dinner brought back some nice memories of our Italian wedding.

This morning I had a tasty pain au chocolat from Baker & Spice for breakfast. Not the healthiest option, but oh so tasty!

There is some good food to be had in Shanghai, for sure. As long as I stay away from the local cuisine. ;)

Solo in Shanghai

2011-05-31T19:11:00.004-07:00

Yesterday was my first day out venturing in Shanghai solo. I had planned on doing so on Monday while Dan & Breanna were at work, but I got knocked out by a migraine. So yesterday it was. I decided to keep it fairly simple and not venture too far on my first outing ... so I decided the plan was to go to Super Brand Mall.

Off I went. The 45-minute walk there made me slightly tense, truth be told. As I mentioned, being a pedestrian is quite nerve-wracking. I encountered a couple of very large intersections where I was the only one crossing ... so there was no safety in numbers ... eep!

The mall is fairly large, yet there really wasn't anything too great to be found. I picked up a cool little book on Shanghai boutiques, but that was it. It's really just a mall full of international stores (ie. H&M, Esprit, etc.), so nothing special. But at least now I have this great book that lists cool, unique shops/designers - so perhaps some shopping will ensue shortly. :)

Hello Shanghai

2011-05-31T02:34:00.005-07:00

Shanghai is interesting - and all in all, not really intimidating. It's really just like any other major city. Well, with lots of strange happenings ... and little pockets of old, traditional areas.

The most intimidating thing I've found so far is walking down the sidewalk! Seriously, pedestrians are the lowest form of life here - you constantly have to be on the lookout (while on the sidewalk) for scooters, bikes, carts, etc. They don't stop for you, no matter what. I find that I get a tad tense when I walk more than a block ... and have now decided that I much rather prefer to take the metro - walking is far too freaky. I'd like to come out of this trip alive. :)

What else can I tell you about China ... Oh! The number one thing to know if visiting here: always carry tissues with you. You won't find toilet paper anywhere. :P

Some other interesting things:
- I've seen a number of people walking backwards. I have no idea why they do this.
- At times I feel like a complete alien and/or freakshow ... in particular, when I'm out on my own, I get stared at left and right. It doesn't happen as much when I'm with others.
- People regularly take your photo (some do it discreetly, others don't try to hide it) -- it's weird.
- When it's particulary hot out, the men like to roll their shirts up (like nice little half-tops) and expose their tummies in attempt to cool down.
- McDonalds offers home delivery.
- It's perfectly acceptable to wear your pajamas out in public (apparently this is especially common on Sundays).

It's really nothing like what I thought it would be. The most horrifice thing I've seen were bear paws for sale on the side of the street. I was really hoping to not see anything like that, but I encountered them today. Horrible.

So all in all, Shanghai has been interesting. I'm glad I decided to come and visit Dan, and get to experience a little slice of China.

China!

2011-05-31T02:19:00.004-07:00

About 6 weeks ago Dan and I were chatting about travel ... and the conversation turned to what places in the world we'd like to see someday, as well as what places we have little or no interest in visiting. We quickly agreed that China was at the very bottom of our list - it wasn't somewhere that held any interest for us whatsoever.

Literally within a few days of us having that discussion, Dan found out that he was "invited" by his employer to go work in another part of the world for 7 weeks. Take a guess where he was invited to.

Yep, you guessed it. China.

So now, fast forward to today - approx 6 weeks after Dan and I agreed that neither of us ever want to set foot in China. Guess where both of us are? Yep. China. Shanghai, to be more exact.

Funny how things turn out, aren't they?! Dan and I discussed whether or not he should take the contract in China, and decided that it was a good opportunity (the positives outweighed the negatives). So he took off for Shanghai in late April, and after much dilemma, I decided that I'd pay him a visit. After all, if he was going to experience China, how could I not?!

We kind of figured that it was meant to be - for some reason we were supposed to come here. Why else would Dan be chosen to go to China 3 days after we had just discussed the country and decided it wasn't a place for us? I don't think it was just a random coincidence. So here we are! And I think it's good that we are. :)

Well hello there!

2011-05-31T02:13:00.005-07:00

I know, I know - I've been MIA. Again. This time for months - sheesh, the last time I posted was January. I was all optimistic the last time I posted ... unfortunately, 2011 hasn't quite been all that I was hoping it would be. The first few months were shite, truth be told. But it seems like things have been steadily improving over the past while - phew!

Happy 2011!

2011-01-04T07:56:00.006-08:00

Happy New Year, folks! I hope that you & yours have a fantastic, fun-filled, healthy 2011.

I have high hopes for this year. Indeed, I do. 2010 was the absolute worst year of my life, so it only seems fitting that I try and make up for it ... so I'll do my best to make 2011 the best it can be. And a bonus - it just so happens that 11 is my fave/lucky number ~ so, ah-hah! I think it's all falling into place already. :)

2011 ... bring it on!

This calendar about sums it up! By spreadthelove on Etsy

Brrr!

2010-11-22T08:08:00.002-08:00

Last winter was so beautiful, so mild. Not quite what we were hoping for, with us being the host city for the 2010 Olympics and all ... but I quite enjoyed it.

I guess we have to make up for it, as this year is already proving to be much colder than usual. We even got some snow the other day - how crazy is that?! We hardly ever see snow here in Vancouver, let alone in November ...

I had a feeling it would be a cold winter, so I decided I'd prepare. Gloves, a scarf, a toque, boots ... and a warm puffy coat! So now I can safely say to Mother Nature ... bring it! ;)

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T18:44:00.005-07:00

Vampire Crissy

Did you know ...

2010-09-14T10:18:00.003-07:00

... that Swatch has a line of jewellry? A lot of people don't seem to know about it! It's called "Swatch Bijoux" and from what I understand, they have a small collection that they release each year. I bought one of their bracelets a looooong time ago and to this day, it's my favourite piece of jewellry that I own.

I just picked up a new necklace/earring set, like in the pic below - but mine is white, not orange. It's a shiny enamel-like finish. A simple, modern - and nice - design, me thinks. :)

Swatch Bijoux - "Love Explosion"

Banana Republic halter dress

2010-08-30T10:59:00.005-07:00

So, we're off to a destination wedding in Hawaii in just over a month, so I've been hunting for the perfect outfit ... look what I picked up from Banana Republic yesterday!

You can't see the back of the dress here, but the back halter area is a really pretty blue silk (you can see a little bit of the blue under the model's arm as well as by the knots). Me thinks I'll see about getting some yellow accessories or something of the sort - for a lil' punch of colour. It's such a flattering dress - the fabric falls *just* right. :)

Eurotrip 2010

2010-07-20T14:15:00.005-07:00

For the past couple of years I've had a goal in mind ... some might think it to be a silly goal, but not moi. The goal? For Dan & I to go to Europe 10 times in 10 years. And ... SUCCESS! Eurotrip 2010 happened this past May/June. Hooray! We just can't seem to get enough of that place. Love, love, love it.

My new goal = 11 Eurotrips in 11 years. We can do it! :)

Florence, Italy

Faux poutine cake!

2010-07-08T12:07:00.006-07:00

I just came across what might be the "most Canadian" cake I've ever seen ... check this out! Ha ha! :D

Photo courtesy of Poutine Chronicles

Watermelon + Basil = YUM

2010-07-07T16:05:00.007-07:00

It looks like summer finally decided to make an appearance here in Vancouver after all! I have a feeling the apartment is gonna be warm tonight, so me thinks I'll have to come up with a nice, cold dinner ... perhaps starting with this yummy goodness!

Watermelon & Basil Salad

I'll let you know how it tastes ...

Pizza!

2010-06-30T12:47:00.004-07:00

The past months have been so very stressful and tiring that I decided that I needed a bit of "me" time. I've been working full time at a day job plus carrying on with my own custom stationery business (every morning, night, weekend). It's been a lot and I've just been finding the need for a bit of down time. I guess I owe it to myself. So I made the decision to reduce the number of design jobs/invitation orders that I accept.

A result of this has been that I have a wee bit more time for stuff I enjoy ... and lately I've really been enjoying yummy food. So I've been trying to cook more. And I gotta say, it's been GREAT. I'm really enjoying it.

Here's dinner from last night. Oh how yummy it was!

Chicken, fresh basil, tomatoes & mozzarella on a whole-wheat pita shell. YUM!

Tiny but tough

2010-06-22T08:22:00.005-07:00

Sorry to have not posted for so long, the past months have been the hardest of my life. I'm broken. But I'm trying really hard to pick up the pieces. Hopefully before too long I'll start posting on here again - I'll do my best.

~C.
xx

(click on image above to enlarge)

Words to live by

2010-01-21T07:44:00.003-08:00

A friend of mine sent the following to me in an email, and I thought I'd share.

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Senior Pepper!

2009-12-31T13:32:00.006-08:00

How can you not smile when you see a smile like this? :)

Pepper is a pup who is currently up for adoption at the Kelowna SPCA shelter (animal ID: 171025) - if you need a loveable little pal in your life, or maybe know someone else who does, check out the SPCA adoption listings.

If I was allowed to have a little furry friend in my rental, me think I'd already be on my way to Kelowna! Pepper looks like quite the little character. :)

Holiday cheer

2009-12-24T08:39:00.005-08:00

Haven't been posting for awhile now, as I've had a lot going on. It's been a crazy couple of months, that's for sure. But heading into the New Year, I think I at least have a bit more clarity in regards to the big events going on in my life.

After months and months of tests, my mom has been diagnosed with cancer. It was really hard not knowing what was going on with her, and seeing her health get worse by the week. So, even though the diagnosis is definitely not what we were hoping for, we now know what we're dealing with. But there is still so much to do, and so much uncertainty.

Other than that, I've been bumped from position to position at my work since June. Overall, I feel quite insecure ... I just want a permanent position! Especially now, with all this going on with my mom (I need to know that regular income will continue to come my way). It's been really frustrating getting bounced around - I'm now in my third position at the University (in 6 months). Anyhoo, I have a feeling that a permanent position will be mine soon enough. Fingers crossed.

But now, seeing as it's Christmas Eve, let's end this post on a happy note - I wish all of you a nice holiday season, and happiness and good health in the New Year!

Vamp at work

2009-11-13T22:30:00.004-08:00

I realized that I forgot to do a Halloween post - whoops. As Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, a few of us at work dressed up the day before. I was an everyday vampire, having a typical day at the office ...

I was of course wearing my special ring - you know, the one that gives me the power to be out in the daylight. :P

Too much

2009-11-10T18:44:00.004-08:00

I'm overwhelmed.

I'm sad.

I'm busy.

I'm confused.

I'm preoccupied.

I'm optimistic.

I'm pessimistic.

I'm realistic.

I'm tired.

I ♥ ruffles!

2009-11-04T21:58:00.005-08:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I can't resist a ruffle top ... I love the ruffles! Therefore, there was no way that I could resist a ruffle hoodie, could I?!

I bought it in grey, but have since discovered that it comes in black also ...

Memories ...

2009-09-28T11:52:00.009-07:00

I can't help but think back to last year at this time.

A year ago today Dan and I were in Europe -- Vienna, Austria to be more precise. It was such a fun time - out of all of our Eurotrips, I'd have to say that the 2008 Eurotrip ranked pretty high - the 2nd best trip to Europe we've had (with the 1st being Eurotrip 2005 of course, when we got married in Italy)

Tomorrow will be one year ago since we hopped a train, headed to Munich and met up with Angela - then headed to Oktoberfest (which was one of the absolute funnest times I've ever had in my entire life) ...

Ahhh, Europe ...

Wayfinding in Vienna

My day

2009-07-31T09:56:00.007-07:00

Took today off from the day job, to focus on getting caught up with some other stuff ... it's kind of hard to work, as it's still SUPER hot (we actually broke another weather record here in Vancouver yesterday) ... but I guess I'd better suck it up and get some work done!!

H-O-T!

2009-07-29T19:23:00.010-07:00

Never in my life have I walked outdoors in Vancouver and had it feel exactly like it does when you walk outdoors in Las Vegas in the heat of the summer ... until today ... the past week has been brutal, I think mostly because it's been so muggy and humid. Gross.

Current Weather Updated: Wednesday, July 29/09, 19:00 PDT
Vancouver Airport - Vancouver, BC

34°C
Mostly sunny
Feels Like: 37°C
Relative Humidity: 34%

From cbcnews.ca:

Wednesday was the hottest day ever recorded in Vancouver, according to CBC meteorologist Claire Martin. At 5 p.m. PT, Environment Canada recorded a record-breaking high of 33.8 C, breaking the previous record of 33.3 C set in 1960.

Temperatures have been soaring across the province all week, hitting the low 40s (in degrees Celsius) in hot spots such as Lytton in the Fraser Canyon, setting records and driving thousands to lakes, pools, and beaches.

Clover

2009-07-20T14:15:00.008-07:00

I don't know what it is about her, but I think this little baby is pretty darn cute! :)

Pretty in pink (aka pair #3)

2009-07-16T10:20:00.004-07:00

I seem to have "fussy feet" when it comes to shoes - I often find it difficult to find shoes that are comfortable. I've found many times over now that my feet seem to like most Diesel shoes - I actually have one black pair that are so comfy (and versatile) that I bought a second "back up" pair, for when the first pair wear out! I was happily surprised to find the exact same pair of shoes (but in a light pink) when I was at Winners last weekend ... for half price!

I have to admit, I've never bought pink shoes before - but the pink is really quite subtle so I think it's okay. They'll look cute with jeans.

Hi ho, hi ho - it's off to work I go

2009-06-29T07:42:00.008-07:00

Wish me luck!

The Pirate Ship

2009-06-25T16:13:00.009-07:00

Last night I went to a VIP event at Playland with two of my peeps. It was a last-minute invitation, literally - got a text invite at 6:30pm, Dan and I picked our friend up at 7:20pm and we were on our way!

Yesterday was an ugly, rainy day but the rain totally let up and we didn't get a drop on us the entire night. I was thankful for that - I don't think going on rides and walking around the park would have been quite as fun if we were getting pissed on the whole time.

We had free hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, pop, midway games - and of course, all the free rides we wanted. Sweet!

It ended up being a big night for me - I faced a fear. I won't go as far as to say I "conquered" it - we'll just say I faced it straight on ... please let me explain ... when I was little, like 7 or 8, my big sister took my brother and I to Playland. She was quite a lot older (she would have been 16/17 at the time), so of course she wanted to go on ALL the cool rides. Jay and I were too small for her to just leave us alone so she could go on the rides, so she took us on all of them, whether we wanted to go on or not! One ride that REALLY freaked me out was The Pirate Ship. I cried the whole ride ... I can still remember it quite clearly. Jay freaked out pretty bad too. Needless to say, I never went on The Pirate Ship again. Until last night. How did it go, you ask? Well, mid-ride I calmly looked over at Dan and told him that I hope he was enjoying the ride, as I would never ever ever ever go on it again in my lifetime.

Tee hee! This is why I say that I "faced" my fear but didn't quite "conquer" it.

(oh btw, my friend said that she had a mini panic-attack while we were on that damn ship, so it's not that I'm a total chicken shit!)

It may not look all that freaky ... but it is. Really. Trust me on this one.

Carrying on

2009-06-17T14:30:00.008-07:00

At this point in my life my top priority is travel. Perhaps my top priority should be buying a home, but ... well, it's just not. I would love to own a place, and it will happen, but right now I'm more focused on travel. That said, my current situation (being self-employed) simply isn't allowing for enough travel - so I have decided that I need to get a 2nd job so that Dan & I can carry on with our travels. We want to travel now, while we're young and healthy and happy - you never know what tomorrow may bring, so we need to live in the now and experience as much as possible. For a couple more years, anyways - then perhaps our priorities will change ...

My way of thinking changed when Dan's dad passed away from cancer. He was fine and healthy one day and the next he was told that he'd be lucky if he lived another 6 months. Life is too short - you need to make the most of it and live each day like you might not have a tomorrow.

So anyhoo, it'll be a super tough transition for me - going from living the life of self-employment to having a day job (AND still having my own business) but I need to do what needs to be done. I'm miserable if there's no prospect of travel in my plans, so I need to fix that!

How about you? Do you have anything that is a top priority for you, at this point in your life?

Pont du Gard, France

An update

2009-06-16T09:43:00.003-07:00

Been wondering where I've disappeared to? Well, let me fill you in what I've been up to lately ... it's really nothing overly exciting, mind you.

Work has been busy. For those of you who don't know, I'm self employed - I design custom stationery (for weddings, etc). It's a busy time of year for someone such as myself, with wedding season upon us. I won't bore you with all the details, but yep - I've been super busy. My schedule hasn't allowed for much down time, hence my lack of blogging for the past while ...

Despite being busy with work, I took a few days off last month. My hubby had booked 2 weeks off from work and wanted to do something fun on his time off - so during the 2nd week I too took some time off and we went to Whistler for a night, and then went to Las Vegas for 4 nights. We had a nice little break, but to be honest, it doesn't feel like I had a break (I guess because I kept working throughout the so-called "break" - not the best of ideas!). So I still feel like I need a getaway ... a break from work, a break from the computer, you know?

Other than work stuff, I just haven't been feeling all that great for the past 6-7 weeks or so. Just not feeling myself at all, and it's pretty lame. I've had such super low energy ... ugh. Maybe it's because I need a real holiday?! ;)

Don't worry, I'm still alive

2009-06-09T22:12:00.006-07:00

I've just disappeared for awhile!

Be back soon. xx

On the 11th day of May

2009-05-11T11:31:00.008-07:00

Four years ago today, Dan and I exchanged wedding vows in a civil ceremony in Siena, Italy.

The City Councillor says (in Italian):

In the year two thousand and five, on the 11th day of the 5th month, in the Town Hall of Siena, in a room open to the general public, in my presence, Councilor of the Comune of Siena, Registrar of Marriages, are the following persons:

Are you Mr. DD?
(Dan answers yes)

And are you Miss CG?
(I answer yes)

For my duty as a City official, and for your guidance, I shall now read the following articles of law out of the Civil Code of the Republic of Italy, which relate to the mutual rights and duties, of married couples

Art. 143.
By marrying, husband and wife acquire the same rights and undertake the same duties. Marriage imposes mutual duties of faithfulness, moral and material assistance, co-operation in the interest of the family and cohabitation.

Both husband and wife each according to his (or her) own means and capacity in the professional or domestic field, must attend to the needs of the family.

Art. 144.
Husband and wife, must agree upon the direction of their family life. The family residence will be established taking into account the requirements of the family. Both husband and wife have the power to put into action the direction they have agreed upon.

Art. 147.
Marriage imposes on both spouses the obligation to support, teach and educate their children, taking into account the abilities, natural talents and aspirations of the children, themselves.

Do you Mr. D take Miss C as your wife?
(Dan answers yes)

And do you Miss C take Mr. D as your husband?
(I answer yes)

Have the witnesses heard?
(Angie & Kimberly answer yes)

In the name of the law I declare that Mr. D and Miss C are united in marriage.

After this, the wedding document was read in Italian and English:

In the year two thousand and five, on the 11th day of the 5th month, in the Town Hall of Siena, in a room open to the general public, in my presence, Councilor of the Town of Siena, Registrar of marriages, are the following persons:

DD, Bridegroom, born at [location] on [birthdate]
CG, Bride, born at [location] on [birthdate]

and they have asked me to unite them in marriage. To this purpose I read to the spouses the articles of law 143; 144 and 147 out of the Civil Code of Law of the Republic of Italy. Then I asked the bridegroom whether he wanted to take C as his wife, and whether the bride wanted to take D as her husband, and as both have answered affirmatively in the presence of the witnesses, I declared that they are united in marriage.

We always have fun together

2009-04-28T10:53:00.006-07:00

Went and saw The Ting Tings at the Commodore on April 11. It was a fun show! I guess Dan & I were having a good night, as we had a good time goofing around on the way home.

Taken on the streets of Vancouver, in the wee hours of April 12 ... silly!

Dan ... jumping ...

Me ... err, not really sure what I'm doing!

Pretty packaging

2009-04-28T10:50:00.002-07:00

Such pretty tape, oh my!

Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-22T09:10:00.004-07:00

Good to know that my hubby works for an environmentally responsible company. IKEA is actually a really decent company - they do all sorts of good things for the environment, their employees and people in general. Yay IKEA!

Click above to enlarge print

This or that?

2009-04-01T17:56:00.006-07:00

So ... say you're a woman who isn't too keen on showing too much skin at the beach ... but still likes to play and frolic in the water ... what would you go with? A "dress" or a top-and-board-short combo?

Walking on glass

2009-03-30T15:09:00.008-07:00

I've been MIA. Again. Lately it's been a series of ups-n-downs - and haven't been in much of a mood to write.

So let's go with something completely random, in an attempt to kick-start my blogging again!

Seriously, how cool is this glass staircase?!

Sweet.

Two peas in a pod

2009-03-19T12:04:00.009-07:00

I've been meaning to do this little questionnaire for awhile now ... here we go! Oh, the answers are obviously about myself and Dan. :)

What are your middle names?

My middle name is Monica and Dan's are Gordon Adriene.

How long have you been together?

We've been friends for 22 years, together as a couple for 16 years, married for 4 years as of this May.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?

6 years.

Who asked whom out?

We started hanging out a lot more - didn't really start off with a specific "date".

How old are each of you?

Errr ... do I have to say? Okay, okay - I'm 33 and he's 37.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
Mine. His brother generally only contacts us unless he wants/needs something.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Likely financial matters.

Did you go to the same school?
Yep, we went to the same art school but he was one year ahead of me.

Are you from the same home town?
Yep, we both grew up in North Delta and Surrey.

Who is smarter?
I'd say we’re equally smart - just in different ways.

Who is the most sensitive?
Probably me, I am female after all. :)

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We don't eat out often anymore - we'd rather order in. Our top delivery? Pizza.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
We go to Europe on a regular basis - I guess the farthest we've been is Vienna, Austria.

Who has the craziest exes?
Dan has a pretty wacky ex but she's just that - wacky; I have an ex that would fall into the mentally-unstable-for-real category. Although, in my defense, his mental issues didn't kick in until about 3-4 years after I dated him!

Who has the worst temper?
That would be me. I'm generally quite patient and super slow to anger - and when I get angry I get very quiet. It's not like I go off the rails or anything. Dan can get pretty pissed - but it only happens about once a decade. Phew!

Who does the cooking?
Me = 50% / Dan = 25% / Together = 25%

Who is the neat-freak?
I'm definitely more tidy overall.

Who is more stubborn?
Me. No doubt about that one!

Who hogs the bed?
Dan - but he's not too bad. I get frustrated when he tries to put his pillow on my head in an attempt to get some extra pillow height though. :P

Who wakes up earlier?
Always Dan.

Who is more jealous?
Neither of us is very jealous, I guess we're so comfortable/secure in our relationship that we both know there is nothing to worry about. I can only think of one person who I was a bit leery about (about perhaps wanting to move in on Dan), but since then it's become crystal clear that this particular girl is definitely not a threat whatsoever (and never was). As for Dan being jealous, two instances come to mind ... but that's it. :)

How long did it take to get serious?
Not long - I think we both knew soon after we started going out that we were in it for the long haul.

Who eats more?
We both have pretty hearty appetities, I will not lie!

Who does the laundry?
Me. But oh how I dream of in-suite laundry. Right now we have one washer and one dryer to share amongst the tenants in our building (12 suites) - it sucks sometimes.

Who’s better with the computer?
Overall, Dan is likely more knowledgeable about computer stuff in general but I likely have more experience/knowledge when it comes to certain programs. And when it comes to typing there is no contest - I kick his butt in that department.

Who drives when you are together?
Dan. Always.

We have fun together. :)
Pic taken at Oktoberfest 2008 - Munich, Germany

Drink up!

2009-03-10T14:08:00.008-07:00

I've been ordering Vanilla Rooibos Tazo Tea Lattes from Starbucks lately but seeing as they're overpriced, I was pretty happy to come across a much-more-economical alternative. Tetley now offers vanilla rooibos tea bags - have you tried a cup? I use half-water, half skim milk - LOVE it. Hands down, it's my favourite tea in the world.

For those of you who are interested in the nutritional information of this tea, here it is (as it isn't provided on the container):

Serving Size 175 ml
Energy 1 kcal - 5 kj
Protein 0.1g
Fat NIL
Carbohydrate 0g
Sugars 0g
Sodium 0 mg
Fibre 0 g
Caffeine NIL
0

Cute

2009-03-08T18:09:00.003-07:00

I saw this Volcom bag yesterday - how perfect would it be for Spring?! It looks better in person than it does here, but you get the idea. Very yellow, very cute. Perhaps I should have purchased it ...

Pretty & fun

2009-03-05T10:24:00.011-08:00

I'm a big fan of Etsy, as I'm sure you know if you follow this blog at all. There are some truly unique items to be found - perfect for gift-giving.

I came across "reworked vintage china" items by Trixiedelicious this morning - how great are they?! Here are my top 4 favourites:
I admit, they're not for everyone - but I know of one or two people who would definitely appreciate them! I even love how they're photographed - kudos to Trixielicious!

Photo courtesy of Trixielicious on Etsy.

I just can't get enough

2009-03-03T10:16:00.008-08:00

It's a grey, rainy, very wet day in Vancouver and I've been trying to find inspiration by looking at our travel pics. I'm not sure that it's working though - if anything, it's making me sad as I don't think we'll be going this year (for those of you who don't know about our love of Eurotrips, we've been 9x in the past 9 years).

Regardless, let us enjoy a photo from when we where last there (5 months ago) ...

Jeff Koons exhibition at Versailles, France - October 2008

Me so proud!

2009-02-26T09:55:00.013-08:00

Just look at this - my life-long friend on the cover of a big magazine! Making the cover of this mag was a dream he had since he was a kid - and now look at him, he did it. I'm *so* proud of him!!

Hard to believe we first met way back in 1986 (yes, I said 1986 - a couple of decades ago), before he even started playing the drums. We were more into bike riding back then! Now look at him - unbelievably talented, in a hugely successful band, on the cover of magazines and completely respected by his peers.

And he's still the nicest, most thoughtful guy - I'm so lucky to have him as a friend. Here's proof of how sweet he is ... look at what he just sent to me - two books he picked up for me while out on tour:

He knows I love sock monkeys.

And he knows how much I love France.

Wasn't that super thoughtful of him? I think so. :)

Simply put - he's the best. Talented, thoughtful. He hasn't let success and/or fame go to his head. He's the same kid I met all those years ago, in grade 6, out in the suburbs. No matter how busy he is, he makes time for me. He's one helluva inspirational guy. He rocks! :)

Happy Blogoversary to moi!

2009-02-25T09:08:00.020-08:00

Wowza, it's been 4 years since I started this blog. C'mon, let's celebrate with some of my favourite things!

Of course, we have to start with a tasty Belgian beer ...

Followed by a yummy cupcake ...

Throw in a cute sock monkey for good measure ...

And top it all off with a Starbucks latte!

View from the desk

2009-02-24T10:08:00.005-08:00

I've been sooo busy with invitation orders lately (don't get me wrong, this is totally to be expected with wedding season being right around the corner and all, and I love it!) I'd much rather be uber-busy than slow, that's for sure. But the 12 hour days and working on weekends does get a bit tiresome, I will admit.

Me thinks someone might just need a vacation in a month or two!

Finally, a replacement!

2009-02-23T09:21:00.005-08:00

I've been on the hunt for a new jacket - one that's not too light, not yet too heavy. It generally doesn't get very cold here in Vancouver so I don't need a winter coat that's too heavy. I stumbled upon this Rip Curl jacket on the weekend and snapped it up!

This pic doesn't really do the jacket justice, but it's the only one I could find.

I splurged

2009-02-16T15:29:00.008-08:00

I bought them. I had to. Get this, I hunted high and low for these boots ... finally found a pair, and they just so happened to be in my size. And they were 50% off!

I'm pretty sure it was meant to be.

My new BFF!

2009-02-05T10:22:00.003-08:00

I'm pretty sure this will be an extremely boring/lame-o post to most of you ... but I'm just so excited, look what arrived yesterday!

My new industrial corner rounder!! If you can believe it, I've been using a stupid little manual corner rounder that is intended for scrapbooking use (definitely not intended for high volume corner-rounding). It's gotten to the point that I've been avoiding doing designs that involve round corners, as doing it with that stupid little corner punch has been killing me (every cut resulted in quite a jarring movement and get this - the average order requires around 1000 corner rounding cuts, and that stupid little punch could only do a max of 2 cuts each time! BRUTAL.

However, I'm thrilled to say that those days are over. I'll be saving my neck/back a lot of pain by avoiding all those repetitive strain movements, and will save a ton of time too. Woooo! Today is a good day. :)

PS: Wondering why I didn't order one of these machines sooner? I guess it was just one of those things I procrastinated over for far too long (a totally lame reason, I know).

Me wants!

2009-01-29T13:21:00.002-08:00

I want these Merrell boots. Yep, I do.

Italy on my mind

2009-01-26T09:47:00.009-08:00

Dan & I have been chatting about heading back to Tuscany for our 5-year anniversary next year. Because of this, I've had Tuscany/Italy on the brain ... so, with that in mind, I made the yummiest Italian dinner last night, and I just have to tell you about it. Yep, it was that good.

Fresh pappardelle pasta noodles with Tuscan-style Italian sausage, tossed in extra-virgin olive oil and parmesan cheese ...

Mmmmm!!

It never really changes

2009-01-21T15:02:00.008-08:00

I'm not one to easily show my emotions. Rather than show them, I tend to bottle everything up and keep to myself - usually stress/anger/emotions will manifest themselves in the form of a migraine for me. But once in a blue moon, when I'm feeling particularly worn down and over-stressed, I'll break down .... I did just that in an email to a friend recently. To be honest, I felt like an ass afterwards. But the best part? He/she didn't do any type of follow up to see if I was okay later on. That hurt.

So now, on top of all the stress I've been under lately, I can't help but think about the bigger picture that is my so-called life. It often seems like the people who are supposed to be the closest to me really don't give a shite about me. Don't get me wrong, I know the world doesn't revolve around me or anything silly like that, but I often feel extremely insignifant to those around me.

Oh well, what can I do? If I could pick up and move to the other side of the world, I would do it - in a heartbeat. Just move, leave all this behind and start over (with my Dan, of course) - and not look back. Start a completely new life.

*sigh*

I'm impressed

2009-01-14T11:39:00.007-08:00

I've had a pair of Blundstone boots for a number of years now and really only wear them in icky weather, as I've never really cared for the look of them. But you really can't beat these boots on a rainy Vancouver day!!

As I said, I really only wear them on really terrible rainy days, so honestly, I don't wear them all that often. So you can imagine my surprise when the soles started to crack ... and soon after, started crumbling off in chunks! (over the past month or so, whenever I'd wear them, I'd literally leave a little trail of rubber sole chunks)

Blundstones are known for being such awesome boots and are supposed to be able to take quite a beating, so I figured this just wasn't normal wear-and-tear (considering I didn't wear them that often, and the rest of the boot looked pretty much brand new). I decided to take them into the Australian Boot Co to see what they thought of it ... and now this is the part that I'm impressed with ...

They replaced my boots. Gave me an entirely new pair, even though they were years old!! Apparently what happened to the soles of my original pair is a very rare ocurrence, but is known to happen from time to time (and of course it just had to happen to me - sheesh!). The person at the shop recognized the issue immediately and was so great to deal with. She said that in cases like that, even though the boots were well past the standard warrantee period, Blundstone will stand behind its product.

I love good customer service. And I believe that when you get it, you should spread the word (hence this post).

So - end of story: I'm now the proud owner of a brand spankin' new pair of Blundstones. Bring on the rain!!

25 things

2009-01-13T09:59:00.008-08:00

25 random things you may, or may not, know about me:

Unlike the majority of women, I don’t particularly enjoy holding babies.
When I was little, I wanted to be an artist, a teacher or a policewoman.
I have nice, straight teeth that are completely natural – I’ve never had braces. Every time I see a new dentist they seem shocked to hear this.
I sang at the Expo ’86 opening ceremonies in a choir (with an audience that included Princess Diana and Prince Charles!)
I’ve broken two bones in my lifetime and had to have stitches once. Ouch.
I worked as a nanny for two kiddies in the summer of 1991.
My first skateboard was a Kevin Staab – this one.
I come from a HUGE family. Between my mom and dad, they have 27 brothers and sisters – so you can imagine how many cousins, etc. I have! Funny thing is, I only know a couple of them.
I’ve seen more of Europe than I have of my own country (Canada).
I don't like rum.
I’m happy to have blue eyes.
When I was little I had a crush on Bo from the Dukes of Hazzard.
I’ve known Dan for 22 years, have been together as a couple for 16 years and this year we’ll celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary.
I hate mayonnaise, and anything made with it.
Apparently my parents considered calling me Sandy. Thank goodness they went with Christine instead!
I love potatoes and pizza. Give me a pizza that has potatoes on it and you’ll have one happy camper. :)
Dan and I have been to Europe 1-2x a year, since 2000.
I’ve suffered from migraines since I was 16 years old.
I love the smell of laundry soap. When I was a teenager I actually kept a cup of Arctic Power powder detergent beside my bed so I could smell it all the time.
I had a destination wedding in Siena, Italy in May of 2005. It was, hands down, one of the top experiences of my entire life. I often wish we could do it all over again!!
My favourite pasta dishes are Spaghetti al Limone and Pappardelle al Cinghiale. Mmmm!
I’ve been in one car accident, in 1999. Dan and I were driving my little Chevy Sprint (it looked just like this) and got t-boned by a huge mackin’ 70’s car - one like this. My car was a write-off yet there was no damage to the other car.
One of my biggest pet peeves is bass. Not bass as in when I’m listening to music, but when someone else is listening to music and all I can hear is the bass (ie. when the neighbour in the basement plays music and only the bass travels through the building … grrrrr!)
I’m a non-smoker and always have been. I admit that I tried smoking a cigarette 2x in my teen years, but quickly decided that it was not the thing for me.
I watched “Stand By Me” 19 times in 1987.

Etsy love

2009-01-07T09:42:00.019-08:00

I decided to try and buy as many handmade gifties as possible this past holiday season. Being a small business owner/stationery designer myself, I understand how important it is to support artisans/artists/small businesses. So I turned to the ever-wonderful Etsy for my holiday shopping.

I highly recommend for everyone to check out Etsy - there are SO many unbelieveable goodies being made and sold on that site. The talent you'll find will blow you away! So go, support some of the creative peeps!

These are some of the fantastic goodies I picked up:

Adorable little Stefan. I admit, this little guy joined our gang. He's sitting in the next room as I type this ... :)

Aldous the Bavarian Goat, for my 5 year old niece.

A little snowman for our own holiday-ornament collection. Check out the angora scarf & toque - so cute!

Picked up two prints for my hubby and framed them - this one and the female squirrel equivalent. We have some odd artwork in our home - these fit in perfectly!

Bella Bunny, for my niece who is just over a year old. What an adorable little doll - and she looks even better in person (perfect for babies and super soft).

My first attempt at making Xmas dinner

2008-12-30T11:14:00.009-08:00

Christmas day was a bit different for us this year. My sister & her hubby decided they wanted to spend Xmas Day alone with their two little girls and my brother had a gathering at his place with his little guy, his girlfriend and our dad. So Dan & I invited my mom over to our place for Christmas.

We're all quite used to having a traditional turkey dinner on Christmas Day, but this year was different. Dan & I don't cook much, as our kitchen isn't the best for it (it's super small and the stove is butted up against the fridge, so it's not a good idea to have the oven on for long periods), but I came up with the idea that we'd have an Italian dinner this year. Have a few appetizers and then the main course ... it was my first time making any of these foods, but they all turned out quite well (phew!).

We started with Roasted Apple & Prosciutto Wedges

Then had some super yummy Potato Croquettes, stuffed with mozzarella cheese

Then onto Beef Spezzatino al Chianti

And for dessert, a super delicious Panna Cotta con Mango

The original plan was to also have a pasta dish (Spaghetti al Limone) after the potato croquettes, but we decided to skip it, as we were all SO stuffed by that time (and we still had stew and dessert to go). But Dan & I made the Spaghetti al Limone for dinner on the 27th and MMMMMM!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness, it was so unbelieveably good - I can't wait to have it again. :D

Xmas 2008

2008-12-24T23:11:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Best little wedding ever!

2008-12-23T09:18:00.009-08:00

The fab Thoughtful Day featured a few pics of my bridal bouquet on her blog the other day. She had a posting up about DIY-flowers for weddings and I had left a comment about how I had made my own bouquet for my wedding in Italy a few years ago ... the next thing I knew, she posted a few pics for her readers to see!

Of course, it made me start thinking about all sorts of things - our wedding in Siena, the overall time period (2005), friends who joined us at our wedding on the other side of the world ... I guess I was what you would call "reflecting". Oh how I'd love to do it all over again!! Who knows, maybe Dan & I will have to be one of those cheesy couples that does a vow renewal at the 5 or 10 year anniversary mark. Hey, it's a good excuse to try to wrangle up our peeps and head back to Italy!! :)

Bottom photo by Ricardo André Frantz

Brrr!

2008-12-19T23:58:00.004-08:00

Holy bejeebers, you sure can tell I'm a true Vancouverite. I say this because I find the temperatures we've been having BRUTAL! I cannot believe how cold it is! I just got home and honestly, the temperature outside right now has got to be the coldest that I've ever experienced. EVER.

It's currently -11°C (that's about 12.2°F to my American friends/readers) outside, but with the windchill it feels like -18°C (= -0.4°F). Ummm, hello?! -18°C?! Crazy cold.

So basically, I've never been outside of the lower mainland in the winter and this is the worst I've ever had it ... and I think I'll keep it that way! And yes, I am well aware that I probably should be ashamed to call myself a Canadian if I think this is cold, but hey, what can I say? :)

Photo courtesy of the City of Vancouver

(picture taken from City Hall, which is just down the road from where I live)

View from the living room window

2008-12-17T11:58:00.004-08:00

It's a snow day! Here's the view from our front window ...

At 10am:

At 12 noon:

And it's still snowing ... which is kinda surprising, as usually our snowfall here in Vancouver is pretty short lived.

Not Printemps!

2008-12-16T09:06:00.010-08:00

Explosives found at Paris department store
By Basil Katz and Katrin Bennhold

International Herald Tribune, Europe
Tuesday, December 16, 2008

PARIS: French police found a package of explosives at the Printemps department store complex in central Paris on Tuesday, a spokeswoman at Paris police headquarters said. The spokeswoman, Mélanie Leprettre, said a warning about the explosives had been sent Tuesday morning to the French news agency Agence France-Presse, which alerted the police. A previously unknown group demanding the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan claimed to have planted the explosive devices. Officials said that five sticks of dynamite had been found.

An editor at AFP, André Birukoff, said the news agency had received an earlier warning that an attack on Printemps was imminent. He said that one of AFP's journalists had received an anonymous telephone call on the morning of Dec. 10 warning that there would soon be an explosion at the department store. The caller broke off before identifying himself or giving any other information. Employees said that the store had been on high alert for several days.

The discovery of the explosives at the height of the Christmas shopping season threw the area into confusion, with traffic backed up as the police cordoned off streets around Printemps. The store, on the elegant Boulevard Haussmann in the heart of one of the French capital's main shopping districts, is packed with shoppers and tourists at this time of year.

Security agents at the scene said the explosives had been discovered in a rest room on the third floor of the Printemps men's store, one of three Printemps buildings in the complex. All three stores were evacuated.

-----------

How horrible would that had been? Not only could people been injured and/or killed, but another one of my fave department stores in Paris would be gone! Eeep!

Bone sequestra

2008-12-11T09:29:00.007-08:00

Soooo ... those of you who know me know all about my dental anxieties. I've been freaked out by the dentist and dental procedures since I was little. The first time I ever went to a dentist I was quite old (6 or 7 years old) and I had to have a tooth extracted. On my first visit!!! I've been traumatized in regards to dental-issues ever since.

You may recall a post I did in April 2007 regarding a dental issue I had. My back molar cracked in half and it had to be extracted (MY WORST NIGHTMARE!). It wasn't a very fun experience but I survived.

Now get this - over a year and a half later, a minor complication has come about as a result of that extraction/dental surgery. Seriously! Ever heard of bone sequestra?? Apparently a good chunk of root from the extracted tooth was left in my gums and has been trying to work its way out ever since (your body will naturally reject/expel things like this). Usually this happens within weeks of a difficult extraction, but with me it took over a year and half (sheesh!). Anyways, the bone fragment finally found it's way to the surface of my gums, but was having difficulty finding its way out on its own. So yesterday I went to the dentist and he removed it. Luckily it was small enough that I didn't have to get stitches - phew! My gum is a tad achey but that's all; the dentist said it will just feel like a really bad canker sore for a few days.

It was no biggie, really. I only had to remind myself to breathe while in the dental chair a couple of times - not bad for me. I think I'm getting braver in my old age. Yay for me! :)

Canada reaches aviation pact with European Union

2008-12-09T09:14:00.004-08:00

Canada reaches aviation pact with European Union
at 9:38 on December 9, 2008, EDT
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union and Canada have reached a landmark deal to open up their air services markets to each other. EU Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani says the pact will lead to more transatlantic trade and spur competition in the air services sector. He says the deal, which removes restrictions on ownership and direct flights, makes "the EU-Canada market one of the most open in the world."Expected to come into force in the first half of 2009, the deal will allow airlines based in the 27-member European Union bloc to operate direct flights to Canada from anywhere in Europe.It removes restrictions on routes, prices and the number of flights allowed between the two sides.It also foresees a phase-out of restrictions on investment and foreign ownership in airlines and could lead to European investors setting up airline operations in Canada.

------------------------

Nice! This can only lead to good things for us Canadian travellers!! WAHOO! :)

Another one ...

2008-11-27T10:01:00.005-08:00

And just when I thought the crazy dreams had stopped, I have another. Not quite as crazy, but still pretty weird.

Last night I had a dream I was hit by lightning. Inside my house. Someone in the dream had told me that I shouldn't go near the kitchen when there was a storm going on outside, but I was really thirsty ... so after waiting for some time, I got up and went to the fridge to get a Coke Zero. As soon as I opened the fridge, KA-ZAM! I got hit. It only lasted for a split second but it was hardcore.

I stumbled back to the couch in a sort of stupor and laid down. Everything from my head to my toes hurt SO bad. I was completely dazed and didn't know what to do - I started feeling really sleepy, so I was likely about to lose consciousness. I knew I needed help but I couldn't get up.

The funny thing was that, despite hurting so bad and knowing I needed some serious help, I kept thinking that I really had to get up and go shut the fridge door ...

Okay .... weird.

CRAZY dreams

2008-11-24T08:53:00.018-08:00

After we got back from our trip in mid-October, I started to have some CRAZY dreams. Pretty much one totally crazy one per week, and then fairly normal ones the rest of the time.

Crazy dream #1

The first one involved a tsunami. I was hanging out with Dan and a bunch of my friends; we were somewhere very high. We were on top of a tsunami wave! Apparently we were on a second wave, as we were headed towards an island in middle of the open ocean and we could see it being flooded (I didn't see the initial wave hit). It was a terrible thing to watch.

So there were two consecutive tsunamis and we were on the second one - and we were very quickly approaching the island, which obviously meant one thing - we were all about to die.

There we were, rushing towards the island, on top of the wave ... we only had seconds left. I turned my head to the left and to the right, looked at everyone, and said to Dan and my friends, "I love you all".

Then I closed my eyes and saw Dan's face ... and then all went black. I died.

Crazy dream #2

I won't go into detail about the next two dreams, but an overview is this - dream #2 involved a child with black eyes who was a demon. Pure evil. And it was trying to kill me. The only way I could stop/kill it was to break its neck, so that is what I had to do. What made the dream extra-extra horrible was that it felt SO real - I could feel its floppy head on its broken neck, and could feel the weight of the head in my hands. HORRIBLE! I woke up from that dream/nightmare and couldn't fall back asleep for hours and hours.

Crazy dream #3

The third wacky dream involved a purple inflatable Easter bunny doll who was "alive". It was a cute little rabbit - until I stepped towards it. As soon as I would move towards it, an evil look would come upon its face and its front teeth would start to grow, really fast. But it would return to normal as soon as I stepped back. I tried moving towards it a couple of times, with the same result. It didn't hurt me or attack or anything, it was like it was just warning me to stay back from it (so that's what I did, obviously!)

Any ideas as to what these crazy, crazy dreams might mean?!

Make me happy

2008-11-19T15:41:00.002-08:00

I've been mega stressed lately and I think it's really starting to get to me now. Anyhoo, as a (somewhat lame) attempt to try and make myself feel a bit better, I Googled "funny dogs" to see what would come up. How can pics of silly dogs not put a smile on your face, right?

MyPublisher rocks!

2008-11-14T09:51:00.003-08:00

I loooove making MyPublisher books after each of our trips. They're super fun to design, and they look totally amazing. They're top quality and I have to say, MyPublisher totally rawks. Dan & I are always showing people our photobooks and have sent the peeps at MyPublisher many new customers over the past few years ...

Anyhoo, I've always been really impressed with the quality of the books, the turnaround/shipping times, etc. But now I'm really, really impressed with MyPublisher. I received our most recent photobook last week and was a bit disappointed to find issues with two of the full-page photos - the colouring was totally off in one of them and there was a bit of an ink smear on another.

Because the errors weren't overly huge, I wasn't about to complain and demand a reprint or anything, but I did opt to send them a quick email to let them know about it - basically just so they know to keep an eye on the quality control. I emailed them, and didn't ask for anything (which, btw, is always a must if you're writing a complaint letter and want something) - and get this - within an hour they got back to me ... and provided me with a coupon worth $115 that I could put towards having another book done. Seriously!

I'm totally impressed. They obviously take their customer service quite seriously, and I totally appreciate it when a company does such a thing. :)

Monday

2008-11-10T09:51:00.004-08:00

Monday already - where did the weekend go?! Well, at least tomorrow is a stat holiday, so that makes the thought of today's work-day a bit more bearable.

The weekend was a bit busier than in past weeks. Well, a lot busier, considering Dan & I have pretty much done nothing at all since we got back from Europe 4 weeks ago (cuz' of that nasty neverending cold we both had). On Friday we went with two of our friends to the Backstage Lounge down on Granville Island. The guy who produced Dan's CD is in a band, and they were playing - so we figured we should go and show our support. Saturday-day was spent shopping - we had a birthday party to go to that night so we had to pick up some birthday gifts (every Fall we have one big b-day celebration for a bunch of peeps whose b-days happen to fall all around the same time - Marcie, Dan, Darren, Bob, Anthony & Malcolm) and I desperately needed to buy something to wear ... so the day was spent shopping. Then, as I mentioned, the b-day party was that night. We started at Sheri & Darren's place and then headed over to the common room at the place where Bob & Treena own an apartment. It was an alright night (it's usually pretty mellow when we hang out with this group of friends) and we got home around 2am or so.

Yesterday was a lazy day. Except for when I'm on a vacation/trip and have no worries floating around in my head, I can pretty much guarantee that my head will be very upset with me whenever I drink alcohol. Therefore, I had headaches on both Saturday and Sunday. My head wasn't too bad on Saturday, but yesterday it hurt a bit worse (the pain is almost always in the base of my skull, on the right side). So Dan & I pretty much hung out on the couch all day and watched shows on WWII.

Anyhoo, I mentioned I had to buy something to wear on Saturday. I found a little top I loved, but couldn't decide on a colour, so I bought two! (one black, one lavender) I had planned on returning whatever one I didn't end up wearing, but on second thought, I'm keeping both! ;)

Isn't it a super cute little top?!

Today's to-do list

2008-11-03T10:19:00.004-08:00

~~Revise design proofs for two clients, email them off~~
Submit invitation photos to wedding magazine, as per their request (deadline extended until next week)
~~Party invitations - print, trim, adhere layers, insert into envelopes, mail!~~
~~Design/upload/order Eurotrip 2008~~ photobook (before coupon expires!)
~~Begin production of three custom invitation orders~~
~~Update/revamp resume~~
~~Place wholesale envelope/cardstock order~~

I think I have a busy day ahead, better get cracking!!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T21:06:00.003-07:00

Our sock monkeys insisted on doing a little trick-or-treating this year ... and have vowed that next year they're going all out with their costumes!

Allan and his booty!

Those of you who know me ...

2008-10-29T05:19:00.000-07:00

... know that I am not a morning person. I loooove to sleep in whenever possible. So perhaps you're wondering why I'm up and doing a blog post at 5:20 in the morning?! Good question! Unfortunately, I don't really have an answer, but it's likely one of the following reasons:

I'm finally getting over being sick and my body just doesn't need as much sleep right now
My neck is so royally screwed up that it hurts to keep my head on the pillow (I'm in desperate need of massage therapy!!)
I have far too much on my mind, and stress is keeping me awake

Perhaps it's a mix of all three? I dunno. All I know is that I've been sleeping SO well for weeks now (perhaps too well) and now I haven't slept a wink for the past 2 nights. Ugh.

Still sick

2008-10-28T09:53:00.009-07:00

Dan got sick when we were in Europe - he first noticed that he was getting a cold when we arrived in Munich on September 29. Then I managed to pick it up from him once we hit Paris (it first got to me on October 7). My cold/bug didn't seem too bad until we got back home (thank goodness, flying with a cold would suck!) but then it hit full force. Dan seemed to be pretty much over his cold by the time we got home on October 11 - well, he was over the worst of it anyways.

Last week I thought I was finally over it. I felt okay on Wednesday. But then on Thursday it hit again, and I was sooo nauseaus on Thursday and Friday. Ugh. It was around that time that Dan started complaining about a sore throat ... and I thought, "oh noooo, here we go again!"

So yep, now we're both back to being sick. We both think that it's a new bug though, not the old one lingering. Ugh! It's getting tough for me, as I've been feeling so shitty for so long now (okay, not that long, but still - it's been around 3 weeks). And I've been so unbelievably lethargic - honestly, I've slept between 10-12 hours every single night since we've been back ... that's not normal!

Here's an example of how crappy I've felt - since being self-employed full time, I've only taken 1.5 sick days -- and both of those days have been over the past 2 weeks. :(

(*cue sad music*)